Birthday Surprises
by Okami-chan
Summary: April wanted Leonardo’s 18th birthday to be a night he’ll never forget. Nights, however, have this really bad habit of ending. -rated for later chapters- April/Leo. 07movie/03 series
1. Chapter 1

Birthday Surprises

**WARNING!** Cross-species kissing, and this is probably the safest chapter in what will be three.  
**Author's Note** I might be taking some liberty with Leonardo's canonical date of birth. I'm thinking Splinter could have used the Chinese New Year, for Leonardo as the first. Hence, middle of a New York Winter. This is my first writing venture into the TMNT-verse, so I'm open to any critiques on how I handle the characters.

Semi-minor Edits: Fixing some... semi-minor details, mostly Leo's height. Turtles are not six-feet tall. -facepalm-

Those who watch me for Transformers fic, don't worry. I'm not giving up on TFs, just need a break from my current angstfest.

* * *

April had never meant to get so goddamned drunk. One drink had led to another, and another, and she hadn't stopped until a green hand had covered her glass and asked the bartender for the bill.

She couldn't quite coordinate her feet, clung to her companion a little more than she had meant to. He didn't seem to mind, not that he ever did. He supported her with a hand on her elbow and an arm around her waist. For a cold-blooded reptile he sure was warm. Then again maybe the clothes he wore to hide his less-than-human features had something to do about that. She didn't remember sitting down in the van or the drive back to her apartment. Only that her companion had opened her door and reached across her to unbuckle her seatbelt.

Unbalanced by his sudden proximity, she rested a hand on his bicep. She could feel the muscles beneath his leathery skin, even through the coarse material of the shirt he wore. "'m sorry, Leo," she moaned.

He didn't pause, but pulled the seatbelt away from her body and smoothly lifted her out. She caught a glimpse of his face, and thought she saw a smile. Not that she could really see straight right now.

Oh gawd, the world wouldn't stop spinning.

He set her on her feet, and casually caught her when she staggered. "Don't be. I'm glad you had a good time."

It was too hot, even though they were in the middle of a New York winter. She pushed against his boney plastron to step away, but his arm tightened around her. "Careful."

She shook her head, which might not have been such a good idea. The world spun around her even faster. "No, 'm gonna…"

"Oh." His grip relaxed, and one hand dropped to his side, but he didn't let her go. At least she could push away from his plastron now.

She swallowed convulsively, and reached for the side of her van. She wanted more space. The last thing she wanted to do was to… oh just thinking about it made it worse.

"Maybe we should get you inside," Leonardo murmured solicitously, and gestured with his now free hand toward her apartment.

That one movement was all it took to trigger the explosion. April bent over and emptied the contents of her stomach onto the New York street where it mingled with the rest of the filth.

The body she leaned against stiffened, and a weak protest squeaked out of Leonardo's throat. Three fingers combed through her hair, and pulled it out of her face.

She stood there retching for what seemed like forever, while Leonardo patiently supported her.

She finally finished, but didn't move, as she gulped deep breaths of the cold night air. She closed her eyes, rather than stare at her puke on the ground. The toe-curling stink of vomit wafted up from the puddle, and god she was glad it was winter and not summer, or the smell would have been unbearable.

Leonardo pressed her head against the firm plastron beneath the woolen shirt. "Feel better?"

"I don't wanna do that again," she gasped.

He made a small sound of agreement. "Neither do I."

That was when she remembered exactly where she was. She opened her eyes and cringed when she saw her vomit spattered against his pants, on his _bare feet._ Oh god, she was so embarrassed now. She turned her head to give the turtle a sheepish grin. "Happy birthday, Leo?"

That earned her a rare and wonderful laugh from the eldest of the ninja turtles. "Well, I'm not likely to forget this one, that's for sure." He gave her a tight-lipped smile and helped her up the stairs to her apartment.

She swayed uncertainly, and clung to her friend as they took the steps one at a time. She thought she should find it strange that he didn't use his normal route through the window. Then again, she couldn't even walk straight, much less hold on while he climbed up. Not to mention that this late at night, it'd probably only be drunkards like her coming home, and they'd put seeing a four-foot tall turtle down to their inebriated state.

"You'll let me know if you feel the need to spew again, won't you?" Leonardo said into the silence.

"Urgh," she groaned agreeably.

They stopped at the door to her apartment while she dug through her purse for her keys. She still couldn't see straight, much less look through her damned junky purse. She thrust the offending baggage at Leonardo. "Here, you find my keys."

Leonardo actually hesitated before he pushed her hand away. "I was using your keys, remember?"

She stared blankly at the hand he held out, and the keys settled in the relatively small palm. "Oh." She took a deep breath and shot him an unsteady grin. "Knew I kept you around for a reason."

"Will you be okay from here?" A twinge of uncertainty crept into the normally sure turtle's voice.

She waved off his concern. "No problem. You've done too much." She hoped she was making sense, she didn't know if she was slurring or not anymore.

The hands that held her shoulders dropped down to allow her to stagger away.

"Would you wanna come in?"

Leonardo visibly hesitated again. "I really shouldn't."

April turned away from him, and staredaround her apartment like she'd never seen it before. She realized that her throat was dry, and she wanted a drink. And a shower. Ugh. She stank. She pushed away from the doorjamb, determined to get a glass of water.

The floor tilted underneath her feet, and she could not find a place that would stay still long enough to take a step.

Strong arms caught her up, and pulled her up against a firm chest. "But I guess I am, anyways."

Well, since he was going to stay, anyway. "I want a drink of water," she declared.

Another of his soft laughs. "Your wish is my command. Here, why don't you sit down for a moment."

A couch suddenly pressed against the back of her knees and she plopped helplessly down. The green hands carefully situated her into the comfortable corner of the couch and then disappeared. They reappeared with a glass of water, which she clumsily took.

"You gonna need help getting that down?"

She paused with the glass touching her lips and did her level best to glare at the turtle.

She couldn't tell if he was joking or not, but she would swear that the corner of his lip twitched.

Leonardo presented an imposing image: standing in the middle of her living room, arms akimbo, eyes narrowed, and the hilts to his katana blades sticking up over his back.

Waitaminute.

She pointed an accusing finger at him. "When did you put those on?"

He blinked, and one of his hands traveled up to touch the rounded hilt of one of his swords. "After you got in the van. I felt naked without them."

Naked? Giggle. "Leo, you _are_ naked without them." With that she tipped her glass back. Water sloshed over as well as into her mouth and dribbled down her shirt.

His head rolled back and he reached out to take the glass from her, and set it on the end table to her right. "All right, I think it's bedtime for April." He pulled her up into his arms, having apparently decided to completely forego letting her walk.

"No."

He paused in the midst of working his way around her coffee table and glanced down at her. "No?"

"I need a shower." When his expression turned dubious, she thrust one finger into the air and stated, "I stink."

He took a deep breath, like he was going to argue, but seemed to think better of it. She could almost see him reason out another approach. "You can barely stand on your own two feet. What makes you think you'll be coordinated enough to take a shower?"

She grinned up at him. "Because you'll be helping me."

His hands tightened on her side and her thighs and his breathing hitched for a moment. He shot her a surprised look. "That's not really appropriate."

"Who cares!"

"You're family," he continued in that not-very-Leo-like uncertain voice of his.

"Fuck family. You guys help each other in the shower, I know you do! I _stink_." She patted at her abnormally stiff hair. "And I don't think I completely missed my hair.

"No, I didn't get it in time. Sorry." He stood there for several long moments, taking deep controlled breaths.

When it didn't seem like he would move at all, she curled her arm against his plastron and rested her head on his shoulder. She opened her eyes wide in her best Mikey imitation. "Pleeeeease?"

He sighed in defeat. "Fine." Then he turned and headed for the bathroom.

His feet slapped on the tile floor and he carried her over to stand her against the wall. "Here, see if you can start getting undressed. I'll grab some towels."

She slapped both palms against the cool tile to steady herself and called after him before the door closed, "Could you grab my bathrobe from the closet in my room, too, please?"

He didn't respond, even though he paused just beyond the door. He'd probably nodded, that would be such a Leo thing to do.

While he was gone, she decided that she could go ahead and attempt to get her clothes off. Hopefully she didn't wind up on her ass when she did. Her pants were the easiest: simply unsnap them, pull down the zipper, a little bit of wiggling and they dropped to the floor where she could kick them away (and almost land on her butt in the process). She unzipped her coat and worked one arm out at a time, before tossing it to the side with the pants. It landed in the sink. She'd worry about that later. Her shirt proved to be the most difficult obstacle, she couldn't stand straight without the support of the wall, but she needed both hands to pull the shirt over her head.

The bathroom door opened, and Leonardo walked in with a handful of towels and her fluffy bathrobe folded on top of them. He paused at the threshold to take another deep breath, his eyes locked on her bare legs. He cleared his throat, and moved forward to place the towels and bathrobe on the counter of the sink. "Let me give you a hand with that."

Did his voice just crack?

She hung onto the wall while he worked her shirt up and slid her arms out one at a time. The course material of his woolen shirt had been replaced by his leathery skin and the cold bone of his plastron. She glanced back, only then did she notice he had indeed completely undressed himself. Except the katana that peeked out over the curve of his shoulders.

"Don't you ever take those off?" April heard herself ask.

The hands paused in the midst of pulling her shirt over her head. Ewww, she had vomit on her face now, and she could smell it. Ugh.

"I had them off earlier, remember?" he finally replied, and tugged her shirt completely off. She could hear the shirt land with the rest of her clothing, and Leonardo hesitated again. Before she could wonder at his pause, he moved with ninja-like speed (_ha!)_ and her bra came undone to hang only by the straps around her arms. Leonardo stepped back with another of his deep breaths. "Think you can do the rest?"

April had to consider that before she dropped on arm and worked herself out of the straps. She thought she heard another hitch in Leonardo's breathing, but she needed to concentrate on shucking her panties to pay much attention to him. She wobbled in a moment of vertigo, and reached for the tub.

Calloused hands circled around her waist, as Leonardo guided her under the showerhead. He reached up to close the curtains, and shut him out of her sight. She stood there for a long moment staring at the knobs for the water, but she couldn't remember which one was which.

"Uh, April?" Again that hesitation entered the turtle's voice. "Did you need anything else?"

If she couldn't even differentiate between the two knobs, then there was no way that she'd be able to do this on her own.. She flicked the shower curtain to one side so that her face peeked out at him. "Your butt, in here, now."

Leonardo's eyes widened in surprise. "That's highly inappropriate."

She hung off the curtain so that she could wag an unsteady finger at him. "You. Are a. Prude. So shut up." Her 'up' popped from her lips quite unintentionally, but it seemed to have the desired effect.

With another heavy sigh, he caught hold of the curtain and shoved it to the side. He took April's crutch with it.

She didn't even have time to squeak before she tumbled to the bottom of the tub. Her head cracked against the wall, and her arms slapped around the offended area. "Shit!"

Leonardo was in the tub, bent over her, hands on her shoulders, then on her own hands, prying her arms away from her head. "Let me look, April," he snapped when she tried to lock her arms in place.

She obeyed automatically; her hands dropped down to her sides as she waited for the world to stop its endless spin. "Am I going to die?" slipped out of her mouth without her bidding.

Leonardo paused in his inspection, and she would swear that he was laughing at her. "I think you'll live to see another day."

He took hold of her shoulders and hefted her to her feet.

She stumbled forward and collided with his plastron, and decided that would be a good place to spend the next few minutes until the world stopped revolving.

The calloused hand reappeared on her back to encircle her shoulders and hold her close to the turtle's slightly cooler body. His cheek rested on the top of her head, and she'd been with the turtles long enough to identify the curve of his cheek as a smile. "You're a mess."

She jabbed her finger up once again, rather liking the way it emphasized her point. "Thus! Why I want a shower."

His chuckle shook his plastron and broke the soft rhythmic thumps of his heart muffled beneath the bone.

No, not bone. April scraped her nails over the not-bone in drunken thoughtfulness. Started with a 'k' right? Kretanin? Kreepinoid? Keratin? Kakarrot? Karrots?

Leonardo disrupted her already disjointed thoughts by turning around to fiddle with something on the wall.

Water suddenly sprayed down on the both of them. April cursed loudly and did her best to burrow underneath the cold not-bone, where the warm beat of his heart lay.

Leonardo's teeth clattered, and a shiver wracked his body and the sound of knobs turning became more frantic. It took a few moments, but the water finally warmed.

"S-sorry 'bout that, April," he said through still clattering teeth.

April pushed away from his chest. "Think I'm awake now."

"Hm. Enough to handle this on your own?" He caught her when she staggered, and another sigh passed his lips. "Nevermind."

She leaned her hand against his plastron again, but paused to contemplate the material her fingers encountered. What the hell? "You're still wearing your swords?" She didn't wait for him to respond. "What the fuck do you think is going to get us in here?"

Leonardo didn't look at her from his examination of the launderette items arranged on her shelf. "I must admit that the prospect being in the shower with a drunk woman who's also training in ninjutsu can be a tad scary" He quirked an eyebrow in her direction, smirk on his face to show he was joking. His attention turned back to the shelf. "How do you…?"

She rolled her eyes (_oh, hello dizziness_) and jabbed her finger in the general direction of the necessary items. "Shampoo, then conditioner, then body wash."

He reached for the first container, and looked it over as though he'd never really seen it before. (_duh, April, no hair, remember?)_, then he handed it to her.

She stared at the bottle, wondering how the hell she'd be able to get this stuff on her head. Well, she could always just… She flipped the flap open and dumped a good portion of the bottle on her head. She could always buy some more.

Leonardo's hands moved down to her waist, and he held her steady while she worked up a good lather and then ducked her head under the stream of water. Soap burned against her eyelids, but she kept them shut tight against the sudsy water that ran down her face. She'd grown accustomed to the world's continuous motion, but it suddenly lurched when she tried to put the bottle back.

"Whoa," Leonardo murmured, his hand on her arm and once again steadying her. "I'm still here." His hand traveled up her forearm and took the bottle of shampoo from her hands. "How about you skip a step tonight?"

She clung to his plastron, and waited for the world to at least partially settle before she nodded. "Good idea. Body wash."

His arms moved away from her, though he tensed as if ready to catch her. "Does this… go on something?"

She turned and her eyes crossed at the bottle shoved in her face. She squinted and finally recognized her bodywash. "There's a pouf hanging from the shower head. Squeeze it on that."

"Poof? Oh."

The constant stream of hot water had warmed Leonardo's body up considerably. God, she could go to sleep right here. She lay her head against his plastron, eyes slipping close of their own accord.

"Um… April? Still not done here."

She groaned but cracked an eye open and snatched the sudsy pouf out of the green hand. She looked down to start rubbing it over her body, but had to close her eyes against another wave of vertigo. Her hand dropped to her side, and the pouf dangled from her fingers. When it had passed she looked up at Leonardo with a pleading grin. "Think you could give a girl a hand here."

Something flashed through his eyes, something she didn't normally see in this particular turtle. Panic?

"I can barely stand up straight, much less wash myself. And I stink, so don't," and she jabbed unsteadily at his shoulder, "try to suggest I skip this, too."

She thought she heard him mutter some curse under his breath, or something along the lines of 'you've got to be kidding'. It didn't sound like a very Leonardo thing to say, and she decided that she was only hearing things.

Cue deep breath number 536, before he took the pouf from her. She braced her arms against the wall to cradle her still aching head while he tentatively touched the soapy pouf to her shoulder. His normally graceful motions became awkward and jerky, like…

April glanced over her shoulder. "It helps if you actually watch what you're doing."

The only thing she could compare his following expression to was 'hand caught in the cookie jar.' His mouth opened to object, only to release sigh number five hundred and uh… what number was she on, oh well, five hundred and eighty-two. But he paid attention to where he put the poof, even if he only gave light dabs on her butt and breasts.

"You must think we're repulsive." Again, words slipped out of her mouth before she could censor them. Damn, she needed to stop that.

His gaze lifted from the pouf that hovered over her stomach to stare at her in surprise. From this angle, with him slightly bent, she could see the water spattering over the curve of his shell, and wonder again how much he could feel through all that bone. Probably nothing at all.

"What?" he asked, as though he couldn't believe his ears.

"Humans disgust you, don't we?"

His mouth opened and he stared at her for a long moment. He finally shut his mouth with a snap and his brow furrowed. If she didn't know any better, she might think she'd offended him. Wait, maybe she had.

"This would be much easier if you did," he ground out through clenched teeth. Leonardo glared at her for another minute before he bent to his task again. He took another of those damned breaths, before continuing in an even voice. "It's not like we have a basis for comparison on our own species, you know." Then he straightened and squeezed out the pouf before adding another handful of body wash to the lacy material.

She watched him crouch down, and stroke the pouf up and down her bare legs for a few long minutes. He seemed reluctant to touch her. "Prove it."

He didn't even bother to look up this time. "Prove what?"

"Prove that you don't think I'm revolting."

His hands froze, and his face turned up to stare at her. His eyes narrowed, but whether in suspicion or because of the water pelting his face she couldn't tell. "How would you want me to do that?"

"Kiss me."

His face twisted, like he'd just swallowed some very nasty sewer water.

She couldn't help it she laughed.

"Oh, haha. Very funny, April." He slapped the pouf to her calf and dragged it roughly down her leg.

"No, seriously. Prove it." She curled her fingers around the knot of his mask tugged indignantly. "Come on."

The pouf dropped to the slippery floor of the bathtub and the giant green turtle rose.

April's throat closed on a squeak as she was reminded that for all their lack in height, the turtles could be very imposing figures. She couldn't identify the expression that thundered on Leonardo's face, but it made her blood run a little colder, and her heart beat a little faster. His eyes had narrowed to pinpoints, and yet seemed to take in the whole of her: her face, her body, her mind, her very soul. He pressed into her space without even touching her, without even leaning closer; like his aura had become tangible, and she suddenly became very aware of the fact that she was a naked woman in the presence of something that while not at all _human_, was still so very, clearly _masculine._

She curled her hands over her chest, and watched the turtle with wide eyes. She had to remind herself, that this was Leonardo. _Leonardo._ And he would never hurt her.

Right?

He planted a hand on either side of her, just far enough apart that she could slide away, if she wished. Then Leonardo leaned forward and gave her a chaste peck on the lips.

Just like that he pulled away, until only his breath brushed her cheek. "There. Happy now?"

Her heart stuttered in her chest and her jaw dropped. "No," croaked out of her throat. That damned alcohol talking again. "Doesn't prove anything." Goddammit, shut up!

The corners of Leonardo's mouth tightened for only a second. He leaned forward again and pressed his lips against hers in a very-much-so _not_ chaste kiss.

April did squeak this time, surprised that he went through with it, when he didn't have the excuse of having drunk enough to put an elephant under.

He didn't have lips. That was the first thing she noticed. At least, not lips like she knew them. And he couldn't purse them the way a human could. He could move the upper part of his snout, however, and manipulate his bottom lip against hers deliciously. It was nothing like being kissed by another human: not Casey, not her first boyfriend, not her college sweetheart, not anyone she'd kissed before. She gasped against his mouth, eyes opened wide.

He watched her through the narrowed slits of his eyelids. Then his hands slid closer, dropped down to embrace her naked waist and pull her against him. He nuzzled her cheek, her ear, her neck; nipping gently at her skin.

Oh god. April's pulse pounded in her ears, and she couldn't find her breath.

Leonardo returned to her lips, his breath playing over them as he paused to meet her eyes.

She had no idea what to think. Her heart still raced in her chest, and she found her arms had somehow wrapped around Leonardo's neck. When had that happened?

She didn't protest when he crushed his mouth against hers again. Didn't shake off the hands(_strange, three-fingers that always meant _safety, _and_ friendship_)_ that began tentative explorations of her back and side.

Leonardo's mouth moved against hers, and his dry tongue touched her lips. He put one hand on either side of her waist and slid his fingers up. A soft moan escaped his throat as his fingertips brushed the soft flesh of her breasts.

She echoed the moan, her arms tightening around his neck.

He stopped, just like that. His entire body— even his breathing—froze, only the rapid beat of his heart gave any indication that he was more than a living statue. Then he took a deep breath and nuzzled her forehead. "You're awfully bossy when you're drunk, April."

April opened her eyes to find him regarding her evenly. She broke out into an unrepentant grin. "So Casey's said, lots of times."

He withdrew then, more in spirit than in physical proximity. His hands remained on her, though in far more modest places, to hold her steady. "What would he think if he heard about this?"

Thoughts of the vigilante soured her mood and she snorted in exasperation. "Casey can go suck Shredder's dick, for all I care. Jackass."

Leonardo blanched. "There's an image for my nightmares."

Her still inebriated mind slowly pieced together another puzzle that had occurred to her. "This has to be the worst birthday present _ever, _for you."

He glanced down at her, one of his brows lifted in surprise.

"It's your _birthday_, but you're having to cart my drunk ass around town and around my apartment, and... and--" She waved her hand to indicate the shower and their current situation. She hung her head. "God, I'm so lame, Leo."

"Oh," he drawled, quite casually, "I don't know. The night's had its perks that's for sure."

She blinked at him in confusionabout what the hell he meant.

He pointedly glanced down at her still naked (and soapy, come to think of it) body.

"Oh, no." A laugh escaped before she could stop it. "No way. Uh uh. You're not telling me that you actually find this attractive." She frantically waved her arms back and forth in front of her body. "No way! I'm _human!_" The world did another one of its spinning acts, but she didn't know if it was from the alcohol, or the revelation that the turtles—her _friends—_could possibly be interested (or, god forbid, have _been_ interested all this time) in her like that. But she knew them, knew their expressions. She knew the look they gave her, one they shared with no other. "That's a real bad joke, Leo." She _sure as hell_ wasn't laughing.

She had thought it had just been because she was a woman. Not _that._

Leonardo did step away then, and something flashed across his face, but he only gave her negligent shrug. "Well, what can you expect? We did grow up on human television."

She stared at him, what could she possibly say to that. "Oh." Yup, real smart there, April.

Leonardo sighed (again) and turned to step out. "I think you're sobered up enough to take care of this. I'll head back now."

He shoved the curtain to the side and stepped out of the tub.

April had never rinsed so fast in her life. She didn't even bother to towel anything dry, but snatched up her bathrobe and staggered out of the bathroom while stuffing an arm through a sleeve. "Leo, wait!"

He hadn't turned the lights on, but she could see him shadowed in the glow of the moon. Leonardo turned to look at her, poised to leap out of her window. He looked away just as quickly, turning to stare out at the New York night sky.

She didn't close her bathrobe in time, clutched her bathrobe closer around her, but the cold night air bit right through the soft fleece like it wasn't there." Look, I'm sorry. I'm drunk, and I know that's a lousy excuse. I should have really known better." She ignored his muttered 'no kidding'. "I know you grew up watching TV and it really didn't click with me that it might have actually altered what a _turtle_ would view as attractive." His expression didn't change, and she slapped the heels of her palms against her forehead in frustration. "I'm just digging myself a deeper grave, aren't I?"

He still didn't say anything , but his angry gaze dropped to the streets.

"Please, don't leave like this. That was stupid of me, and I'm sorry."

To her great relief, Leonardo stepped away from the window to finally look at her. "What do you want from me?"

She shivered involuntarily as a breeze wafted through her apartment. "Closing the window would be a start. Preferably with you on this side."

Another sigh puffed out of his mouth, but he obligingly turned and locked the window into place.

April slid up behind him, and she didn't even try to fool herself that it was unnoticed. He stiffened even before she put her hands on the rough contours of his shell rim. She knew that she usually had sober reasons for having never considered anything like this with any of the turtles, but now with the moon shining down on Leonardo, and her mind still clouded with alcohol, those reasons fled her. Right then, she only knew the pain she'd seen in his eyes, and she just wanted to banish it. Their enemies hurt them enough physically without having to make them worry about emotional wounds from their friends. From her.

Rather than turn around at her tugs on his shell, Leonardo stepped out of her reach. Away from the window.

Okay, she could understand that. She wouldn't let that bother her. He was just trying to stay out of sight, and be all ninja-y, right? God, she was starting to sound like Michelangelo. She needed to go to bed. But first…

His hands remained at his side, and still he said nothing. The moonlight glinted off his eyes tracking her through the apartment, the only sign that she had his attention at all. Her feet made no noise over the carpet, and her head spun with what she was about to do.

She curled her hands over his cheeks (did he flinch?) and pulled his face closer. "Even after knowing you guys for three years, you can still surprise me, you know?"

He steadied himself with a light touch on her shoulders, and a smile tugged at one corner of his mouth. "Even after a lifetime around humans, you guys can still surprise us. So, yeah. I do know."

"Well," she murmured, as she stepped closer to him, "we both have a lot to learn."

She closed her eyes and kissed him. She touched his jaw, his snout, trying to get a feel of his face in her hands, of her mouth melded over his, of his fingers on her shoulder. She stroked his cheeks, brushed the course material of his mask. She opened her eyes to find his eyes on her, his gaze calculating. His hands disappeared from her shoulders, and large fingers encircled her wrists and pulled her hands away from his face. He moved his head away, breaking their kiss.

"April, what are you doing?"

She twisted her hands out of his grip, but he didn't fight too hard to keep hold of her. Her bathrobe tumbled from her shoulders, and she dropped her arms to let it fall the rest of the way. She didn't pay attention to where it settled, but stepped closer to the turtle. "What does it look like?"

He glanced down, for only a brief moment, and panic flashed across his face again. "April…"

She kissed the end of his snout, the skin leathery under her lips. Her arms wrapped around his neck, but she pulled one hand back to comb out the tails of his mask.

Another puff of air sighed from his chest. He ducked her lips, but pressed his face to her neck. His hands came up to caress her back, and he mouthed at her throat, and then moved on. He kissed her shoulder, her chest. She was certain he would have at least nipped her breasts, but his snout breezed right past them, only to touch her belly.

April's head rolled back, and she placed her fingertips on the top of Leo's head. She couldn't quite catch her breath, her skin suddenly hypersensitive to his every touch. To the fingers that stroked down her buttocks. To the breath over her belly button. A whimper squeaked out of her throat, a soft plea for more.

His cheek rested against the lowest curve of her abdomen, his snout hovering so close to her most private parts. His breath washed over the small hairs of her groin. She wanted him to do something but sit there and breath on her. She wanted him to put his mouth on her, stick his tongue in her.

Goddamn him! Why was he just sitting there? "Leo!"

He jerked as though he'd just awakened from sleep. His palms slid down her thighs, and tickled the back of her knees. His breath swept down her legs, interrupted only by an occasional convulsive swallow. His hands disappeared from her legs, but she could hear his fingers skitter over the carpet. Was he looking for something?

Impatient with him, she drew swirls over his round head, slipping her fingers under his mask. She jerked them away when she accidentally poked him in the eye. He didn't complain_, _outside of a soft 'hey!', and so she continued to wander her hand over his moonlit skin, over the knot of his bandana. She could feel him scrunch his brows, even if she couldn't see his expression, she could hear him swallow, and the way it broke the rhythm of his breath on her skin.

He abruptly stood, his arms still around her. Cloth rushed up her back with his motion, only to settle around her shoulders. He shook his head. "No."

She stared blankly at him, she didn't know how to interpret that one word. "No?"

He looked at her, his eyes narrowed, expression guarded. "I'm not doing this."

She frowned, though she knew what he meant. "Why?"

"Because you're drunk." It wasn't an accusation, or a judgment, merely a statement of fact.

"So?"

He finally smiled, a patient smile like he gave Michelangelo, and pulled her robe close. "I'm not taking advantage of you like this."

April's mouth quirked to the side. "Like what?"

Leonardo heaved a sigh, and furrowed his brows. "You're drunk."

"So," she immediately retorted, "I'm an adult. I can make my own decisions. You're not taking advantage, Leo."

He retreated a step, when she tried to approach him. "I don't want to be something you'd regret."

Her heart jumped at that, and once more words spilled out of her mouth before she could stop them, "Raph would do it."

Leonardo narrowed his eyes again. "Then, I'll be glad that he's not here, and I am." His hand stroked down her arm, over the soft material of her robe and he gently pushed her toward her room. "You should go to bed."

"You're leaving?"

He smiled at that, though she couldn't imagine why. "Well, yeah. It's getting rather late." He glanced down at her robe and looked away just as quickly. Then he turned and moved toward the window.

April reached out and grabbed his shell. "Don't go."

His shoulders dropped, but he didn't look back at her. "Why?"

"Maybe we're not done."

That made him shoot her a half-suspicious, half-annoyed glare over his shell His eyes traveled down, but snapped up as immediately as the previous time. "Maybe I want you to know what you're asking first," he shot back.

April pressed her lips together, but didn't let go of Leonardo's shell. "Then wait until morning. Stay."

She heard the bones of his hand creak, and she peeked over the curve of his shell, surprised to find his fingers curled into a fist.

She scratched the back of his shell, as she would have scratched the back of a man. He didn't react; he couldn't even feel it, she realized. So she touched the muscles of his arm, the padding over his elbow. Her hand trailed down the leathery texture of his skin, and slipped over his fist. "Stay," she repeated.

He didn't react, didn't move for several minutes. She couldn't even see his shoulders rise with his breath. Then Leonardo uncurled his fist and accepted her hand.

* * *

**Author's End Note: **Oh, gaaaawwwwwwwwwwwd I am so embarrassed now! Hope you all enjoyed the sneak peek at the second chapter. I thought I took that out of there. -goes off and hides now- Thanks to zebra_in_dream for pointing that out. -invisauthor-


	2. Chapter 2

Birthday Surprises

**WARNING!** Surprise!Turtle Anatomy. (I did say that the first chapter was the safest, and I do mean that!)  
**Author's Note **This is also called 101 Ways to Humiliate and Embarrass Leonardo. (Well, not really 101 ways, but it's funnier like that, yes?)I didn't mean to take so long, but I've been plugging at it whenever I can get the muse to cooperate. I've got a start on the next part. My muse has just stalled me on an important scene. As a matter of fact, he's done that with any fic at a similar point. *shakes a fist at her muse* I might have lost the 'voice' of the story while writing this chapter. I tried to keep it, but may not have succeeded. *headdesk*

* * *

Chapter 2

The sun beamed right through her eyelids, digging daggers into her eyeballs, and deep into her head. A foul taste stuck at the back of her throat, but she couldn't swallow, her mouth was too dry. An ache tried to cleave her head in two, and she brought her hands up to shut the light out of her eyes.

Something pinned her torso. An arm? April froze. Was someone else in her bed? Not Casey. The arm was muscular, but too lean, too toned.

April's breath came in shallow wisps as she took stock of her bed partner. Seriously not Casey, the chest was all wrong. The thighs were also too thick. The body pressed the mattress down in an odd way, as though most of his weight centered on his torso…

She could hear him breathing, but she couldn't tell if he was awake. His breath came in even whispers, moving over her hair and through the material of her robe.

April couldn't recall what had happened last night.

She slid her hand back, trying to move as quietly as possible. The fuzzy robe clung to her fingers, but she didn't pay any attention to that. She touched an arm, skin tough, leathery, and familiar. A suspicion crept through her mind, but she didn't want to believe it.

Her hand came into contact with something hard. Boney. Armor?

No. A turtle shell.

Okay, this was not abnormal. When she accompanied them on a mission that kept them out long enough for them to need to sleep, the turtles would often curl up together, or with their human friends. She'd woken up plenty of times with one (or more) of them snuggled up against her warm body.

This wasn't like that, though. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she knew that this was different. It made her freeze as she tried to pinpoint the difference.

That was when she came to a second, startling revelation.

She was _naked_ under her bathrobe.

Why the hell was she in bed with a turtle and (practically) _naked_?

Oh god, she hadn't.

She knew that they were one-of-a-kind (or four-of-a-kind), and they wouldn't be able to find any female turtles like them. She had promised herself—long ago—that she would never tease them like that, like _this_ (not to mention that they had all been _underage_ at the time she'd met them.).

What had happened last night? Oh, if only her head didn't hurt so much!

"There's a glass of water and a bottle of advil on the night stand," came a soft voice from behind her.

She kicked out with a surprised yelp. He was awake?

Okay, maybe she shouldn't be surprised. He'd probably woken up the moment she touched him, or if she wasn't kidding herself, the moment she moved or maybe even woke up.

His arms tightened around her for a moment, but let go when she stiffened.

Leonardo.

Last night was still a fuzzy collection of broken images and sounds that didn't make any sense. They'd gone out to celebrate his eighteenth birthday last night, she recalled. She'd managed to get herself plastered, and she vaguely recalled something about a shower.

"I promise nothing happened."

Oh god, her head hurt so bad.

The turtle sat up and leaned over her to reach the night stand. He held out a bottle that rattled every time it moved. "This will help with that."

April winced, and glared at the noisy bottle clutched in the green hand. "Do you have to do that?"

The hand stilled. "Sorry."

She grabbed the bottle from him and worked the top off. She spilled two white pills into her hand, and tossed them into her mouth. A glass of water appeared in front of her. April couldn't help the smile that grew on her face as she sat up and accepted the offering. "You're too considerate, Leo."

Leonardo chuckled and laid back down, though he kept his hands to himself. "Maybe I'm just reluctant to lose the warm body next to me. It's cold in here." He pointedly tugged the comforter over his shoulder.

April grinned (_headache's still there too, owwwww) _and downed a mouthful of water with the pills. Stale water. Nasty. Did nothing for the foul taste in her mouth, either. Ew. Still, Leo was right; it was too cold to leave the comfort of her bed just yet.

She stared at the bookshelf across from her bed, the shelves filled with theoretical documents, thrillers and mysteries, and even a few romances guiltily tucked in between the other paperbacks. She didn't want to leave her warm bed, but her state of undress embarrassed her around her friend. "Why are you still here?" She blanched, that hadn't come out at all how she wanted it to. "I would have thought you'd leave before the sun came up."

She glanced over her shoulder at her guest, and had to force her mouth close when she realized that he'd taken his mask off. '_Don't be ridiculous, April. Of course he takes the mask off when he sleeps at home._' She knew they hadn't when they were sleeping here, though. She firmly recalled Michelangelo's fists being framed in orange when he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

Leonardo tilted his head, a thoughtful crease on his brow. "You asked me to stay," he finally said.

That only made her eyes grow wider at the implications behind his words. Her heart pounded as his voice flitted through her memory, '_I don't want to be something you'd regret.' _What the hell had she done last night?

Leonardo watched with concern in his eyes. He propped himself up on his elbow and reached out with his other hand to touch her shoulder. "April?"

She looked away, and rubbed a hand over her aching head, fingers dragging through her knotted hair. "Why did I ask you to stay?" She felt like a fool for asking, but she couldn't remember what she had said last night. She remembered dragging him into the shower, she remembered…

…_fingers stroking down the skin of her buttocks…breath over her belly, on her legs…_

Her fingers strayed down to her lips, the memory—the _feel—_of his kiss suddenly at the forefront of her mind.

She squeezed her eyes shut, as though that simple action would have shut the memory out of her mind.

He hadn't answered her question, she realized. "Are you trying to think up a convincing lie?"

He yanked his hand away as though burned. "I don't lie," he grated out in a most offended tone.

She pulled her robe closed and planted her feet on the floor. "Okay, not a lie." She used her free hand to push her hair out of her face. "I just meant, were you trying to find some way of telling me without actually saying what happened?" She glared at the empty glass of water on her night stand. Her head still pounded, the medicine slow to work its way through her system.

He was silent for a few breaths, until finally; "Nothing important."

She quirked a smile back at him. "See, exactly what I meant." She stood, then, and headed for the door. "You know, I think I want to eat before I deal with this."

"Sounds like a good idea," she heard him say before she shut herself in the bathroom.

Her clothes lay in a scattered reminder of what she barely remembered last night. Her coat still sat in the sink, and her blouse and pants lay in a pile next to the toilet. Her underthings, she was embarrassed to notice, were draped over her towel bar. She hastily grabbed everything and stuffed it into the hamper with the dirty towels. Well, she told herself, it's not like he hadn't see you _naked_ anyways. So what's a few underthings after that? That didn't stop her face from heating up, and she was glad he wasn't there to see it.

She could hear him pass by just outside the door, the soft, purposeful creak of the floorboards that would let her know he was up and about. Heading for the kitchen no doubt.

She finished up in the bathroom and tied her robe close before she stepped back out into the apartment.

Leonardo sat at the table with a bowl of cereal, quietly munching away. He didn't even turn to look at her, though she had no doubt that he was very aware of her presence as she walked behind him. His bandana tails draped over his shell, but he hadn't strapped on his katana yet. They weren't sitting next to him, he must have left them in her bedroom.

She could feel his eyes on her while she went about the motions of fixing her own bowl of cereal. Her heart raced, and she couldn't seem to move quite as smoothly as she normally did. She accidentally knocked over the cereal box and had to snatch it up before it could dump its entire contents on the floor.

Her bathrobe fell open as she was bent over, revealing her still bare chest.

Dammit, she'd forgotten to get dressed. Her head still wasn't working right. Or maybe it was the turtle's steady gaze that had her all out of sorts. Bits and pieces of the night before flitted through her head, unbidden. Snippets and conversations that didn't make sense without context.

Leonardo remained silent.

That was it, April decided. The silence was bugging her. She poured milk into her bowl and sat it on the table in front of her chair. "So, uh, what did the guys do for you yesterday, before I kidnapped you that is?" She still couldn't bring herself to look at him.

The sounds of his eating (which hadn't stopped even during her misadventure with the cereal) halted. "Well," he paused as though not sure having to remember, "Mikey brought back some birthday cake from the job he had to do yesterday. Raph and Casey both brought some beer in..."

"They would." She paused and snuck a peek at him. That they drank didn't surprise her. She'd had a long conversation with Master Splinter on the matter that amounted to 'they can save the world, they can handle alcohol.' "You didn't have any then, did you?"

"No. It was much funnier watching them get drunk and try to entice Donnie into having some."

That gave her pause. "He doesn't drink?"

"He can't stand the taste. Raph hates that he can tell it's there just by smelling it."

"Wow." April put a spoonful of bran cereal in her mouth. "Wait… then you _do _drink?" He hadn't had a thing last night, she was sure of it!

"I prefer sake."

She rolled her eyes with a snort. "Of course. So what did Master Splinter do for you?"

Leonardo chuckled, his laugh low and private. "Gave me the night off."

Forgetting her mouthful of cereal, her jaw fell open and she stared at him. "What?"

He grinned and raised his hand to wave off her surprise. "That was a joke. Really. He gave me a new rack for my swords, something he and Donnie both had been working on."

Come to think of it, she remembered seeing something like that once, when she'd stopped by the lair and Leo hadn't been home. "Nice."

He stood, and took the bowl to the sink. "I should probably head back and make sure no one's gotten in trouble while I've been gone."

"You have the shell cell, don't you?"

"That's beside the point."

She stared down at her own bowl, appetite suddenly missing. "What did I say last night?"

"April…"

"Leo..." she snapped back, mocking his patronizing tone. She leaned back in her chair to glower at him, hands tucked under her arms.

He glanced at her and then turned his gaze back to the sink. "I'm not holding you to anything you said while you were drunk. Don't worry about it."

"So I _did_ say something."

He shot a surprised glare at her, apparently not expecting her to say that. "Like I said, it wasn't important, and I'm not holding you to it."

'_You must think I'm revolting.'_

_'This would be much easier if I did._'

Her eyebrows furrowed, working out the still hazy events of last night. Her fingers touched her lips again, remembering his kiss and the touch of his hands.

"You goddamned idiot."

"Excuse me?"

April dropped her hands from her face and glared at the turtle. "You are a goddamned, stubborn idiot." She pressed her lips together and rethought that. "You are a goddamned, stubborn, _honorable_ idiot."

His brows lifted, and the corners of his mouth turned down. "You would have preferred that I went ahead and..." he waved his hand at her and then at the bedroom, uncharacteristically at a loss for words. "...you know... while you were drunk?"

"Well... no... not really..."

"All right then."

"So, what's your excuse now?"

His eyes narrowed, and he snatched the towel off the counter to dry his hands. He didn't say a word as he swiped at first one hand then the other, his gaze never straying from her face. He casually tossed the towel aside, and she couldn't help but follow its path to the edge of the sink.

She should have known better than to take her eyes off a ninja turtle.

He was suddenly in her space, turning her in her chair, pressing her into the table. His breath washed over her face (_he needs breath mints_, she thought in some still rational part of her mind), his breathing coming a little faster, nervous.

"Is this what you want?"

She forced herself to take a deep breath, refusing to give him the satisfaction. She set her jaw, and leaned back against the table. "Maybe?" Okay she really needed better control of her voice, she squeaked too easily.

His lips twitched, and his eyes narrowed a few increments more. (_Rather like Michelangelo and his ever expanding grin_) He leaned closer still, hands braced on the table behind her. "What would you have me do, then, April?"

"Do?"

"Yes." A light touch of breath ghosted across the small hairs at the back of her neck, and she had to clench her muscles to keep from leaning into it. "Do you want me to seduce you?" His breath moved from her face to her neck. Her skin twitched with his proximity, and she couldn't breathe with the expectation of a kiss—or a bite, she couldn't tell. His voice went from a soft sigh of air to a low growl. "Or perhaps you want me to be more forceful?" Then he was gone, back by the sink, leaving her bereft of his touch. "Or did you want to make the first move?"

She still couldn't remember how to breathe. "Um..."

His head tilted, and his lips twitched up in an all-too-brief brief smile.

That only made her face heat with embarrassment. "Okay, so what part of that was honorable? You tell me! That didn't seem very honorable at all!"

"I was just showing you what choices you have. Very honorable." He ducked his snout into his fingers, and his eyes glinted at her.

That jerk! He was laughing at her!

She scowled at him. "And why do _I_ have to make the choice here? Can't you act first?" She narrowed her eyes. "Or is that just not honorable."

Brown eyes dropped to the floor and Leonardo nervously rubbed at his right arm. His mouth opened a few times, but no sound came out. He took a deep breath, but let it out still without a sound.

_'Maybe I want you to know what you're asking first.'_

Was Leonardo afraid she'd reject him?

The idea of Leonardo being afraid was almost ridiculous.

But would she?

She didn't know. She didn't want to hurt him, but...

She pushed her chair away from the table and picked up her bowl to take it to the sink. She turned the knob and held the bowl under the stream of water that flowed out of the faucet. She glanced at the turtle. "If you want something, you shouldn't expect someone else to make the first move."

She could feel his eyes on her as she shut the water off and set the bowl into the sink.

One of his hands settled on her lower arm and slid up to her inner elbow. "April..." His other hand appeared on her shoulder and his bony plastron pressed against her back, pushing at her shoulder blades.

Her skin tingled where his breath touched her, zinging all the way down to her fingers. She gasped, and leaned into him.

His mouth brushed the nape of her neck. The hand on her shoulder moved up to run his fingers through her tangled hair. Three large fingers combed through the tangled mess and his breath lifted from her neck.

April covered the hand on her elbow, caressing the leathery skin. Her heart pounded, and she pulled his hand off her and wrapped his arm around her waist. She played with his wrist band, and slid her fingers under the padding. She glanced back, but her hair obstructed her view of the turtle.

He didn't stop moving her hair about. His breath returned to her skin, but on the other side. He rested his cheek on her shoulder, and simply watched himself run his hand through her hair.

"What _are_ you doing, Leo?"

"Your hair," he murmured. "I've always wanted to touch it."

"Is that _all _you're going to do?"

His hand slid from her head. "No, not if you-" He stopped mid-sentence, and tugged. "Um..."

Her hand clapped over the hair tangled around his fingers. "Ow!" She winced as he pulled again. "Don't do that!"

His voice dropped a few octaves in embarrassment. "Er, sorry about this, April." He yanked a little harder.

She seized his wrist in both of her hands. "Gah! Stop that! Let me do it!" She followed his hand to the knots around his fingers.

He held perfectly still while she worked her messy hair off his fingers.

She pursed her lips in a frown as she picked at the knots. "Geez, you'd think I didn't condition it or something."

"Well, you didn't."

She closed her eyes and shook her head at herself. "I guess you would know."

"Heh." He stayed silent for another minute. "If I'd known this was going to happen, I don't think I would have let you skip that step."

Her hair finally fell completely free, and she shook her head, this time in relief. "Let's not do that again."

"I'm sorry about that."

She turned around to give him a small smile. "It's okay. It's not like you're used to messing with hair."

He laughed, softly. "No, not really." He brushed her hair back from her face, so that he could run his thumb over her cheek. "You really okay with this?"

"Shut up and kiss me, Leo."

He pulled her closer, and did exactly that.

His kiss felt as strange now as it had the night before, stranger still now that she had a clearer head (_oh, the aspirin's kicked in_). His mouth moved against hers, sometimes in conjunction, and sometimes twisting in impossible ways as though he wasn't sure of what he was doing. (_well, how many woman has he kissed? More like, how many times has he kissed _anyone_?) _His plastron mashed her breasts down. She had nothing to compare this whole experience to, and she found herself as nervous as her first time. He kissed her thoroughly, fingers of one hand lightly touching her cheek, while his other arm encircled her waist.

She did not keep herself so circumspect. She curled her fingers over the hard muscles of his shoulders, and explored the ridges that lay under the leathery texture of his skin. She couldn't help but admire the way his muscles moved deliciously under that strange skin.

She took a deep breath, inhaling the musky scent that she had come to associate with the turtles, and the underlying smell of sewage that they always carried around with them. It wasn't particularly horrible (she had smelled much, much worse on Mikey after he went skateboarding), and she had long grown accustomed to it. Beneath all of that lay something she hadn't smelled since the last date she'd had with Casey, when they were trying to patch their relationship up.

April broke the kiss, only to press her nose against the wrinkled skin of his neck. She pulled away to look at him, she really could smell it still clinging to his skin. "Leonardo... are you wearing cologne?"

Leo's hand fell away from her face and his eyes looked everywhere but at her.

April's eyes narrowed in suspicion then. "You weren't planning this, were you?"

The turtle's eyes went wide in his mask and he stared down at her incredulously. "_Planning?"_ He chuckled. "No. None of this involved planning on my part. I just wanted to blend in a little better wherever you decided to take me."

April silently contemplated her turtle friend for a time before she moved her nose back to his neck. She took deep breaths, trying to reach past the musk and sewage, to identify the masculine scent underneath.

Leonard didn't seem to mind that she insisted on shoving her face into his neck. The hand on her back slid up to her shoulder, three fingers gently kneading the muscles underneath the robe. His mouth brushed her cheek, warm breath washing over her ear.

It tickled, and she shivered, and lifted her head with a gasp.

His other hand came up and swept her hair away from her neck, allowing his mouth full access.

April dug her fingers into his arms, her breath coming in ragged pants His inhumanly wide mouth covered more of her neck and shoulder than she ever thought possible. Her hands moved from his arms to wrap around his head.

He took a deep breath, excited, uncontrolled. A quiver ran down his arm, and he pressed even closer still, touching as much of himself to her as possible. His hands moved over her body, all gentle, but eager, touches. He kissed up her neck and over her jaw, to settle on her mouth.

He paused in his kisses and one of his hands wandered down to cup her bottom.

She opened her eyes as he put gentle pressure on the curve of her bottom.

His brown eyes flicked nervously back and forth, watching for her reaction. He squeezed her again, and then his other hand moved down to join the first, cupping her other cheek.

She wrinkled her nose at him and kissed his snout. "I'm not gonna break you know."

His brow ridges lifted and his eyes widened in surprise at her comment. "I don't want to hurt you."

She made a face at him again, and jabbed her finger into the sensitive skin at the edge of his shell. "You. Won't. So you don't have to be so gentle!"

He kissed her upper cheek, and squeezed her lower. "Maybe I just want to savor the moment." He kissed her again, tilting her back against the edge of the counter.

That made her break away with a yelp, "Leo!"

He stopped, alarm flashing across his face. His eyes flicked over her in concern, and then he backed away.

His mouth opened, but she cut him off with a wave of one hand, while the other rubbed at her back. "The counter edge is kinda… ow."

He grimaced, his eyes narrowed in thought. "Well, we can't have that…" Without any further warning, he swept her off her feet (_literally! Eep!)._

She followed her mental squeak with a much more vocal one, her arms flailing of their own accord to grab hold of his shoulders and neck. "Whatareyoudoing?"

He chuckled and pulled her closer. "Moving to a more comfortable place. Couch or bed?"

She blinked up at him, heart pounding in her chest. She clung to him as he shifted their grip on her back and under her thighs.

His breath came in harsh pants, but that was the only strain he showed from carrying her. His fingers tightened on her thigh, and his thumb stroked down the fuzzy material of her robe. "Well?"

April slid her arms around his neck, still clinging to him like a leech. "Couch is way too small."

He laughed again, and she loved the way that it shook his shoulders, and reached all the way down to her most intimate places.

He carried her to the bedroom, turning sideways so she wouldn't conk her head on the doorjamb. His harsh breathing only increased as they crossed the few steps from the door to her bed.

She watched the way his eyes dilated and contracted almost in time to his rapid pulse. His gaze flicked about her room, an automatic habit, but she had a feeling that his mind wasn't quite on his surroundings.

He set her on the bed, and then bent down to kiss her cheek, and then her mouth. He squeezed her thigh, and swept the robe away from her leg to give him access to the skin underneath.

Cool, calloused fingers stroked down her thigh and to her knee. She gasped at the sensation, not expecting them to have gone cold after such a short time.

Leonardo groaned, a soft grunt of sound that gurgled out of his throat, like a dog receiving a good scratching. He touched his tongue to her lips, and his hand slid up her leg. His fingers slipped under her bathrobe, moving it aside even more, until he could touch the softer skin where her leg met her hips. He pulled away from the kiss, his breath still coming in rapid gasps, eyes wide, body thrumming with excitement. His gaze tracked down to the hand resting on her exposed thigh.

She looked down, too, surprised to see her hands covering his. She stroked the green skin, right over the tendons on the back of his hand. She looked back up at him, smiling at the uncertainty on his face.

She released his hand to pull his face down for another kiss.

He shivered, but not from the cold. Then he bent down, knee braced on the edge of the bed, eagerly kissing her back. His bottom lip and tongue moved together against her lips, making her heart hammer in her chest with excitement.

She released his face to tug the knot loose on her robe.

He kissed her even more fiercely, and plucked at the shoulders of her robe, but he didn't tug it down.

She didn't wait for him. With a few shrugs of her shoulders, the bathrobe fell of its own accord, and she wriggled her arms free of the sleeves.

She broke away from the kiss first this time. She wanted his hands on her, not on her thigh, not on the bed somewhere. She wanted him to look at her. His eyes were closed, dammit!

When she grabbed his hand and shoved it onto her breast., though, his eyes snapped open, wide and alarmed, staring down at the fingers framing her soft flesh. His breath hitched, and he wriggled his hand against her grip. "Um..."

She laughed, released his wrist and kissed his snout. "Whatever happened to all that confidence you had in the kitchen?"

His brows twitched, and he took a deep breath, but didn't say anything. He pushed her back onto the bed with the grip on he had on her chest. He released her breast, and his fingertips stroked down her side, and his eyes followed his hand down the curve of her waist. His breath shuddered in his chest as he looked her over, and the expression on his face reminded April of how inexperienced he was (_they all were_) in this. He stroked a hand down her thigh, and then back up to the curly hair between her legs. He bent down, his breath hot where it washed over her stomach.

She took a deep breath in a futile attempt to calm her racing heart. Her hand rested on the back of his head, and the other hand played over the back of his neck, the hard curve of his shoulder, the bone of his shell. "Leo…" she breathed.

His snout touched her belly; nuzzle, kiss, a bite. His teeth dragged over her skin, a pinch of exquisite pleasure.

She hissed, her fingers digging into the keratin, strange under her nails; clicking over the raised texture of his shell.

He panted against her stomach, tongue laving over her belly button. "There's my confidence."

She yelped, muscles convulsing and she flailed her arms around his head. The chill in the apartment air cooled the saliva on her skin, and she couldn't catch her breath.

His hands slid over her legs, cupping her bottom, tickling the back of her knees.

She squealed, "Leo!"

"You keep saying my name," he chuckled, but his breath trembled in his chest.

She laughed breathlessly. "You keep that up, and that's all I'm gonna say."

He lifted his head, but his lower jaw rubbed against her upper stomach. "You… want my hands somewhere else?" His fingers hovered at the dip between her legs. He didn't touch her, but she could feel his hand quiver against her skin.

She slammed her head back on the bed. "_Leo!_"

He snickered. "There you go again." He rubbed her thighs, his eyes wide, excited, but that little bit of nervousness still remained.

She wriggled her hips down into his hands. "Would you rather hear Raph's name?"

Leonardo jerked back at that. "What is with you and him?"

The words did not compute. She stared blankly at him for a long moment, his hands turning cold on her bottom.

He huffed, and pulled away. "You mentioned him last night, too. Said that he would have taken advantage of your drunkenness." He braced his weight on fists on either side of her, his eyes narrowed; suspicious

"I did?" She lay her head back, biting back the frustration that clawed at her throat and coiled in her nether regions. She scrunched her eyes close. "He would have," she said with a certainty she felt down to the pit of her stomach. She squirmed against him, hating the direction of their conversation. "He used to come over and hang with Casey, remember? They drank. This shouldn't surprise you. You learn a bit about a guy after a few beers."

His brown eyes searched her face, and then traveled down the length of her body. His breath evened out, only to quicken again. "It doesn't." His hands slid back under her thighs and he cradled her hips.

She closed her eyes, throwing her arms up over her head as his breath teased over her inner thighs. "God, Leo!"

He licked the inside of her thigh, and his tongue traveled down to her most private bend.

She covered her face; the anticipation eating away at her nerves, every muscle screaming for motion, her flesh for satisfaction. She couldn't breath, waiting for him to touch her, waiting for his tongue. A moan squeezed out through her fingers, and she lifted her head to glare at the turtle between her legs.

He watched her with an amused smirk. His breath warmed her, but it wasn't his mouth that touched her first.

She hadn't even noticed that one of his hands had vanished from under her bottom, until the blunt, uneven edges of a fingernail scraped against her groin.

She flinched, his fingers cool against her. Her hips moved into his finger, and she spread her legs a little more for him.

He wriggled his finger, his gaze shifting between her face and his hand. He planted another kiss on the soft flesh of her thigh. He played with her folds; careful, (nervous?) strokes that made her breath catch in her throat and her stomach clench.

He set his finger against the moist entrance aching for attention.

When nothing happened, besides a few wiggles, maddening touches across her most private areas. Frustrated, April lifted herself onto her elbows, mouth open to snarl at the turtle.

As if waiting for her to do just that, Leonardo met her eyes, and then pushed his finger in.

A squeal burst out of her mouth. She hadn't realized how big they were! At least, she's always _known_, but she'd never realized what it would _mean_. She'd never thought she'd be in a situation like this, would _need_ to know.

Leonardo's finger moved in a careful rhythm, and it seemed to match the pulse of her heart. His mouth traced up the inside of her thigh, his brown eyes watching her intently.

She squirmed and her head rolled back again. The pressure between her thighs reached up her abdomen, and wove tight bands around her chest. She gasped and pressed her hand to her mouth.

He disappeared suddenly, but he didn't leave her bereft for long. Tentative. Not hot, but warm, wet. Leonardo's tongue pressed against her. Too big to fit, he teased her opening, drawing a torturous line from her groin to squeeze the pit of her stomach.

She squeaked and whimpered, and bit down on her fingers. She flailed out her free hand, clenching at the bed sheets. She couldn't stifle the noises coming from her throat. But why should she?

'_I don't want to be something you regret.' _

Wouldn't that be contradictory to what she was doing here? Didn't she want him to know that she enjoyed it? That she enjoyed _him_? What was she trying to hide?

She couldn't calm her breath, but she forced her hand down. She allowed the explosive bursts of sound out of her mouth, each one incited by his warm mouth and hot breath.

He seemed to appreciate her helpless whimpers and soft pleas. The touches became less inquisitive, more sure. Leonardo's hands slid up her thighs, cupped her knees. Back down to squeeze her bottom. He licked at her; his breath fast, excited. Eager.

She clawed at her breasts, wanting more than just his teasing touch. Her hand slid down, stroking over her stomach, the small bump of her abdomen that she couldn't seem to get exercise off. She found his hand on her leg, and stroked the back of his fingers, the tendons that stood out on his knuckles, covered by thick skin.

She could never mistake that texture for anything human. She wondered if she should be disturbed, but…

Had not the long years shown that he was a person, like Casey, like her, like Angel. That all the turtles were people, and their touch meant safety, friendship, care, concern. She found that the three fingers didn't make her any less comfortable than five; leathery skin not so different from a smooth, if hairy arm.

Leonardo closed his fingers gently over hers, and his thumb stroked her palm with a tenderness that was just so definitive of this turtle. His mouth moved over her, distracting her from her thoughts. His tongue slicked over the crease of her groin, one last time before his breath traveled its way up her belly.

She panted, laying her arm over her eyes as she recovered from his lavishing on her senses. She finally moved her arm to watch him move up her torso.

His weight pressed the mattress down under her as he braced himself on his elbow. He uncurled his fingers to release her hand, so that he might trace his blunt fingernails up her stomach, only to pause at her breasts. He touched the soft skin, and his gaze lifted from his hand to meet her eyes, as though he couldn't believe his privilege.

April smiled back, stroked his cheek. She lifted her shoulders off the bed to press a kiss to his round snout..

A sigh whispered out of his mouth, his mouth forming her name. Leonardo leaned on the edge of the mattress so that he could kiss her lips.

She could taste herself on him, smell it on the fingers that brushed her cheek, caressed her jaw. They trembled against her skin, perhaps the only remaining hint of the nervousness that had vanished in the child-like wonder of his eyes. The wonder of a man about to taste a woman for the first time.

Leonardo's breath shuddered from his mouth, and he settled more of his weight over her. He nipped at her collarbone, and her bare shoulder. His mouth traveled over her breast, and he caught her skin in a gentle bite. His tongue flicked out to play with her upstanding nipple.

She moaned and wrapped her arms his head, pressing him to her chest. She didn't want him to stop. She couldn't put her legs around his shell like she wanted, so she settled for rubbing them over his side, careful of the ridges that bordered his shell. While not particularly sharp, she had enough experience with catching them the wrong way to know that they were abrasive enough to leave scratches like rug burn, or even concrete.

He moaned, but not in passion. His snout wrinkled and he dropped his head.

She caressed the top of his head, over the arches of his brow. "Leo?"

"Crap." He looked up and embarrassment leaked out of the grin he gave her. "I, uh... I'll be right back."

She could only blink dumbly as he shoved himself away and left the room. _What the hell..._ Then she heard the bathroom click close, and it hit her.

He hadn't used the bathroom yet this morning.

Her hand clapped over her face and she rolled onto her side to muffle her giggles into the comforter. Okay, kinda off-putting, but not entirely new. God, how many times had Casey pulled a stunt like this.

The toilet flushed and she could hear the faucet running. She had noticed some time ago how fastidious the turtles were about cleaning, but she supposed that came from a lifetime in the sewers where nasty infections could run rampant if they weren't handled properly. Not that they didn't have their lapses; they _were_ teens after all.

She would be grateful for that, considering some of her former boyfriends' habits. She rolled onto her side, shaking her hair out in an attempt to make it at least semi-presentable. She settled her head on the ball of her fist, and idly played with the comforter, debating actually climbing under the blanket to escape the chill.

The bathroom door opened, and distracted her before she could follow through on that thought.

He came back into the bedroom, his hands brushing against his thighs to wipe the last vestiges of water from them. When his eyes fell upon her, however his steps faltered, if only for a minute. He let out a breath and moved again, but his eyes remained locked on her, and his breath came in hurried little puffs.

She watched him no less intently. Watched the way his muscles rippled and rolled beneath his skin. The way his skin absorbed the light rather than reflect it all back. Perhaps that was how a group of green turtles managed to be such good ninjas, because green just didn't seem to be a color that should blend so well into the shadows.

She sat up as he closed in on the bed, unable to look away from his muscular thighs. She reached out when he got close enough so she could put her hand on the cool skin of his leg.

His breath hitched in his chest, and he froze.

She looked up at him, smiling as his breath hitched again. Her hand glided up his leg, and she leaned forward to place a kiss on the textured skin.

The muscle flexed under her fingers, and she could see his fist clench by his side.

She batted her lashes up at him, all innocence. Her other hand made its stealthy way to hover over the back of his thighs. After a few seconds of searching her fingers latched onto his tail.

He made a sound in the back of his throat and went absolutely rigid in her hands. "April-!"

She kissed his thigh, and grinned mischievously at the way he choked her name. She played with the appendage, running it through her fingers. "Yes, Leo?"

His hand waved behind him. "That's um... that's..."

"A little sensitive?" She found something protruding from his tail, a little wet and slimy and she plucked it once.

Leonardo choked again and jerked away. But he didn't go very far with her hand wrapped around his tail. "Just a little!" he squeaked. "Um, April that's... that's..."

Then she realized what she had in her hands. She had spent enough time with the turtles to know a few of their less pleasant anatomical features. Like the fact that they... expelled wastes from a singleholeintheirtail... Oh shit!

Her hand yanked away, and her face burned. "Um, sorry about that, Leo."

He stared down at her, his breathing still heavy. Then he swooped down and kissed her.

She yelped, muffled by his mouth, as she fell back against her pillows. She caught at his arms, unable to do more than squirm under him in surprise.

His knee slid between her legs and one of his hands latched onto her thigh, pulling it up along his side. "I want you," he husked into her neck. Even as he spoke his hand traveled up her leg to the curve of her bottom. He nipped gently at her skin. His shuddering breaths gave the only indication of his nervousness.

She cupped his cheeks and made him look at her. She brushed her lips over his snout, his lower jaw. Touched her tongue to his chin. "Take me."

His eyes dilated, and he gasped, a normal sound choked off, turned strange to her ears. "Yes," he breathed. His fingers dipped between her legs, fingering her waiting heat. He kissed her chin, her shoulder, her neck, her ear. He couldn't seem to settle his mouth on any one area as excitement vibrated throughout his body.

He pressed his finger in, tentative, for only a brief moment.

She moaned, hands strumming up and down his side. April opened her legs wider still for the turtle, eager for more than these teasing touches.

He withdrew his hand.

She blinked up at him in surprise, mouth open to ask him what was wrong. Was he not planning on using his hand?

Then something touched her inner thigh. Slick and slimy, it slid upward, inward. Pressing against her, trembling in time with his excited breaths.

That was not a finger. She didn't even think it was a dick.

Too soft to be any kind of man-made device. It felt_ wrong. Slimy. _It _swelled_, as though it would burst open any moment. And it was warm, when everything about his body always seemed to be so _cold. _

Alarm spiked through her entire body. She jolted, shoving and yelping. "Wh-What the hell is _that?_"

He tensed, and confusion furrowed his brows. "I... I think you know what that is, April."

_What?_ She stared up at him, her chest heaving. She planted a hand on his shoulder and shoved him away so that she could sit up. She halted, stomach muscles taut, her weight propped on her elbow.

April gawked, her mouth hanging open, but she couldn't seem to do anything about that. Or tear her eyes away from Leonardo.

His tail hung free, swollen and painful looking. But that wasn't what had snagged her attention.

"Leo, what the hell is _that_?"

He shifted, thighs clenching, and his hands moving to cover the long purple _thing _that stuck out of his tail. He didn't respond, and she still couldn't tear her eyes away from it_. _Her stomach churned as she watched the tip swell and _open_, like some sick kind of flower.

"You have a tentacle."

He took a breath, perhaps to speak.

She didn't give him a chance. "You were going to put a _tentacle _into me. What the hell _is that,_ Leo?"

"It's not a tentacle..." he began.

Some distant part of her thought she should be paying attention to his sudden hesitation, his uncertainty. It was screaming at her that she was forgetting something, and what that was was at the edge of her perception. But she couldn't draw her attention off the length of slimy flesh protruding from his tail.

"Like fuck. What the hell is it, then?" She found herself scooting away, pulling her legs against herself. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the thing coming out of her friend. "It's coming from your _ass_, and you don't think this should bother me. I... I can't. You can't expect me to actually..."

His hands clenched into fists, and suddenly he was a flurry of motion.

He rolled off the bed, and snatched up his swords.

She could only stare after him as he yanked the window open and launched himself out of the window. He didn't even seem to care how indecent he looked; his swollen bruised-colored phallus hanging free still.

April stayed huddled there on her bed, her mind churning with this new perspective on her friends. She thought she might truly get physically ill as she remembered that _thing_ hanging from him.

She hadn't been expecting that. Not expecting it. Not expecting it at all! Oh god what the fuck was that?

* * *

**Author's End Note:** Do I need to start running now?

I am so pleased with the response this got! Thank you very much. 3


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